Tariffs at Possible: ad leaders confront retail, ad tech, upfront turmoil

Major advertisers, retailers, ad tech leaders and marketers are talking tariffs and economic warfare at Possible this week. The Miami Beach-based ad conference, running through Wednesday, was an opportunity for the industry to hear from influential leaders about the effects of the tariff regime in the U.S. It’s an unavoidable topic, since President Donald Trump announced a bevy of levies on global trading partners on April 2. “It’s certainly a stressful time to be a CMO,” said Lorraine Twohill, Google’s chief marketing officer, who was speaking on stage in a keynote, referring to “economic circumstances.” Google is the top sponsor of Possible. The tariffs have twisted product roadmaps, supply chains and marketing plans. Trump appears to be locked in an intractable standoff with China after imposing a 145% tax on imports. China retaliated, meaning companies making goods and selling goods there feel it both ways. Read the latest on tariffs and advertising The fallout has been widespread, with retailers such as Temu and Shein, having to slap new surcharges on their fast-fashion goods. The China-based retailers, known for prolific digital ad spending, also have sharply pulled back. On Tuesday, Amazon was caught in the turbulent climate following reports that it would start disclosing tariff costs in its prices, and then stating it would not add the transparent labeling. The White House called it a “hostile political act,” according to New York Magazine’s Intelligencer. Possible, which is in its third year, provided one of the first major marketing get-togethers in this new economy, and of course the subject came up as it relates to ad tech and e-commerce. Also read: Gary Vaynerchuk kicks off Possible with a rant Walmart leans into low prices In a keynote fireside session with 3C Ventures CEO Michael Kassan, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner painted a picture where Walmart could benefit from tariff-related uncertainty because of its reputation for consistent low prices. “It’s our job to try to keep prices as low as possible,” Furner said. “Our DNA is we’ll do everything to keep prices as low as possible. Customers rely on us … for that.” Part of that is a heritage of everyday low prices and avoiding the spikes of high-low pricing, Furner said. But he said it’s too soon to say how Walmart will address the issue in marketing messaging based on how the impacts unfold. “We don’t want to come across as not relating to what people are going through,” he said. Data-driven Marketing Playbook: Join industry leaders on May 22 to explore how data can drive marketing strategies, optimize media buying and improve customer engagement. Learn more here. Tariffs spark ‘contingency planning’ among marketers At Monday’s MMA board meeting, which was scheduled to coincide with Possible, brand CMOs and other board executives from media, agencies and ad tech discussed the state of business. One measurement industry executive said that advertisers are exhibiting uncertainty. “There’s a lot of contingency planning,” the executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But no one is pulling the trigger yet.” Jon Schulz, CMO at demand-side platform Viant, spent 12 years at Ford Motor Co. The automotive industry is greatly affected by the tariffs, despite executive orders announced this week. “When stuff like this comes down … they tend to pause [advertising],” Schulz told Ad Age. “They don’t cancel completely. So if you have a lot of big auto exposure, it affects you.” “Luxury is another one that’s been hit—LVMH and [brands] like that,” Schulz added. “So if you’ve got a lot of luxury exposure. If you have a lot of international exposure, that’s another area. So there’s a lot of things that will affect [advertising].” Marketers rethink upfronts as economic pressure mounts One media company executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that in meetings with brands, they’ve determined that this year’s upfront will be the most turbulent to date, more so than the early pandemic. Clients want more than flexibility in timing and cancellation options in their media commitments, and they want more favorable pricing, this media exec said. Also read: 8 streaming and CTV predictions for the TV upfronts In digital ad markets, especially programmatic, advertisers should apply TV-style demographic targeting to their campaigns, to cast as wide a net as possible, said Jackelyn Keller, CMO at Comscore. “I would encourage brands to really take the best of national TV measurement, really start at a demo level, even in programmatic campaigns, and once you see an audience is engaged, that’s when you can start going addressable,” Keller said. “I think that there’s some inefficiency when someone goes straight to the ‘auto intender’ or the ‘millennial parents,’ because it’s possible that you overlooked a customer that would have liked your ad.” As a software company, tariffs aren’t an immediate concern for us,” said Dara Treseder, CMO of design software company Autodesk. “But they’re a big concern for our customers who are making physical goods. So one of the things that’s really important to us is, how are we diversifying and preparing to be able to support our customers in a period of volatility? Really making sure we can be that trusted partner.” Autodesk just began its fiscal year in February, and Treseder said she’s prepared to make changes based on what happens in the economy. “As marketers, the most important thing on the list is always the unexpected,” she said. “So, absolutely [we’re] scenario planning, building agility into the plan. It’s really important as a CMO to be prepared for what you cannot be prepared for.”

Tariffs at Possible—ad leaders confront disruption in retail, ad tech and upfronts

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